A Printer Purchase Question

I do a fair bit or printing in B&W. I'm sick of paying $60 every couple of
months for a new ink cartridge (Canon). Refills never seem to work. I could
by a new Epson C45 for $72, that's about the cheapest printer around here.
So, my question is...

Advertisements

A-ha, so refill before it runs out. Good idea. Any ideas about what's a
good, cheap way to go with a Laser? I've never looked into it
before.Anything I should avoid?

Paul in Australia

"Barry Watzman" <> wrote in message
news:...
> If you are printing B&W, get a laser printer. The initial cost is
> higher, but the cost per page is about 80% less, and you will save money
> over time.
>
> I've had good luck refilling ink cartridges (HP 56/57 series). They
> don't print well for up to 2 days after refilling, due to air bubbles
> introduced by refilling, but this works itself out (just by letting them
> sit unused in the printer) within anywhere from a few hours to 2 days.
> Also, if you run an inkjet cartridge completley dry, you will burn it
> out and it can't be refilled. In addition it's obvious function of
> marking the paper, the liquid ink is the coolant for the resistive
> heating elements in the printhead.
>
>
> Paul wrote:
> > I do a fair bit or printing in B&W. I'm sick of paying $60 every couple
of
> > months for a new ink cartridge (Canon). Refills never seem to work. I
could
> > by a new Epson C45 for $72, that's about the cheapest printer around
here.
> > So, my question is...
> >
> > 1) Are any brands noticably cheaper to use than Canon?
> >
> > 2) Are Laser printers more economical to use?
> >
> > 3) Anything to stay clear of?
> >
> >
> > Thanx in advance
> >
> > Paul in Australia
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >

Advertisements

There's a new Canon laser printer that's under $200. I saw it at both Sam's
Wholesale and Staples. I'm sorry I don't remember the model number. I'll
see if I can find it and I'll post back when I know.
Barry, from what I learned while refilling cartridges a few years ago the
reason that cartridges are ruined by running dry is that there is salt in
the ink and it stops up the holes when it gets near the end of the ink
supply.

AG

AG
"Paul" <> wrote in message
news:42665bf0$0$10306$...
> I do a fair bit or printing in B&W. I'm sick of paying $60 every couple
of
> months for a new ink cartridge (Canon). Refills never seem to work. I
could
> by a new Epson C45 for $72, that's about the cheapest printer around here.
> So, my question is...
>
> 1) Are any brands noticably cheaper to use than Canon?
>
> 2) Are Laser printers more economical to use?
>
> 3) Anything to stay clear of?
>
>
> Thanx in advance
>
> Paul in Australia
>
>
>
>
>
>

Another benefit of the lasor is although it is longer to warm up, if you
hava a 50 page or longer doc to print, lasors usually give you about 15
pages a minute. You cant get that from an inkjet. I trashed my inkjet
and bought a Samsung Lasor for about $200US and have refilled it myself.

Advice and your tentative decision so far are excellent : if you print b&w
get a laser.

You will be amazed how quickly you get used to the absence of jams, clogs,
the need to recalibrate the wretched heads, the need, time and cost to
replace the wretched cartridges, etc.

Which one? Read reviews. go to comp usa, best buy, whatever there is
around you, and print test pages. be aware the mfgrs choose chose pages to
emph. their strong points and hide their weak points -- but you will still
be able to see obvious clunkers you can eliminate immediately.

After you find some acceptable models in your price range, look up the cost
of replacement cartridges. This determines your price per page. 92
brightness 20 lb paper costs 3.00 per 500 sheets. Point 6 cents a page.
Now, how many pages will your cartridge print? Mine (Nec Suprscript 1200)
claims 6000. that's bullshit, of course, all the max page numbers you see
will be bullshit. reduce the number by 7 or 8 percent. So mine will print
about 5600 pages. Cost for brand name replacement, 135.00, cost of
remanufactured version 95.00.

figure your cost on the brand name replacement. remfg'd versions might have
to be sent back a couple of times to get one that works, so you'll be losing
in time and aggro what you gain in savings.. 135/5600 = about 2.45cents a
page. So it costs me about 3.05 cents a page to print. Printer cost me 199
plus shipping = 212.

Right now I have a replacement cartridge in it, that should have cost 90
bucks, but the first one didn't work, so I had to get a replacement rush
shipped: cost 115 bucks.

So there you are: about 3 cents a page, plus of course amortization
over...say five years. Maybe 10, because decent lasers do last a long time.
With maybe a 50-75 dollar replacement cost for rollers over the second five
year period.

One last thing: some laser printers do not do well printing graphics that
have solid black or dark gray masses in them that are bigger than about a
couple inches by an inch and a half.

they band, i/e, they show lighter vertical streaks, 1 or 2, down the image
down the area that's supposed to be solid. but unless you are printing
images that have such areas, it's not a concern.

if you are or want to, be aware of that and check on it at the store.
someone might tell you it's a problem with the individual printer - but =
absolutely = it's not. some brands/models opf printers simply do not lay
down dense blacks well in areas over some particular size.

Best of luck,

Mike

"Paul" <> wrote in message
news:42665bf0$0$10306$...
> I do a fair bit or printing in B&W. I'm sick of paying $60 every couple
of
> months for a new ink cartridge (Canon). Refills never seem to work. I
could
> by a new Epson C45 for $72, that's about the cheapest printer around here.
> So, my question is...
>
> 1) Are any brands noticably cheaper to use than Canon?
>
> 2) Are Laser printers more economical to use?
>
> 3) Anything to stay clear of?
>
>
> Thanx in advance
>
> Paul in Australia
>
>
>
>
>
>

Share This Page

Welcome to Velocity Reviews!

Welcome to the Velocity Reviews, the place to come for the latest tech news and reviews.

Please join our friendly community by clicking the button below - it only takes a few seconds and is totally free. You'll be able to chat with other enthusiasts and get tech help from other members.
Sign up now!